Before we could actually bring any rabbits home, we had to build a hutch. I've had some ideas in my head for how to construct one, but, as things usually go, we ended up building the hutch based on the materials we had at hand.

Dawn had found two shed doors on the side of the road...and that ended up determining the dimensions of the hutch we built. We used the shed doors as the roof, and we'll later cover these with some tin for longevity.

The hutch is approximately 6 feet by 7 feet, and it's quartered into four separate spaces of roughly 3 feet by 3.5 feet. The hardware cloth I purchased was 2 feet tall, so that ended up being the vertical dimension of the living area.

Dawn had also found some scrap 2x4s and plywood that we were able to press into service for the hutch. The plywood became doors, and 2x4s became the frame. I purchased a few more 2x4s and two 2x6s at the local supply house. The end product ended up being a quite robust hutch that stands about 6 feet tall, with a footprint of about 6x7.

Sorry about the quality of the photo, it was about 9:30 at night when we finished the hutch. We used a 2x6 across the lower support so that it will hold up a bit better over time. The uprights are 2x4s, the roof is 1/2 inch plywood, and the hardware cloth is 1/2 inch in order to allow the pellets to drop through.

One of the major goals of raising rabbits here will be to use the manure in the garden. We have very poor soil, so anything we can add to it will greatly benefit my plants.

All in all, I think the hutch cost us under $100 in material. Considering we should be able to get many litters of rabbits out of it, the structure will eventually pay for itself, I hope.

Shannon and Dawn will be sharing their experiences with raising meat rabbits on Tuesday afternoons. They homestead on three acres in Louisiana when time off from life and working as a sys admin permits.